AGENT CRYSTALLINE
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA (2019)
Ultra-thin, Self-supported, Aluminum Network Shell Structure
Commissioned by the Edmonton Police Station.
Design & Computation: by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY.
All images Copyrights by THEVERYMANY x NAARO (No use or reproduction allowed without written authorization).
Dimensions: 10m / 33’ H
Material: 3mm Aluminum
Linear Cut Distance: 7,936 meters
Number of Parts: 1,785
Number of Rivets: 157,796
At the Edmonton Police Station in Alberta, Canada, Agent Crystalline by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY rises as a prismatic gateway between roadway and civic landmark. Positioned at the threshold where an access road meets the station—and visible from the sweep of a major freeway—the artwork is designed to operate at multiple speeds of perception. For those passing quickly in cars, its sharp facets and crystalline silhouette catch the eye in an instant, registering as a bold signal in the urban field. For those who slow down and walk beneath it, the work transforms into a dynamic architectural environment, unfolding layers of space, color, and light.
The structure is composed of interlocking aluminum components, forming a crystalline volume that seems to grow upward and outward, like a mineral formation scaled to the city. Its geometry is calibrated for both distance and intimacy: from afar, a striking icon; from within, a space of passage and pause. As light shifts across the day, surfaces shimmer and fracture, creating a sense of continual transformation—an environment that never appears the same twice.
As THEVERYMANY’s second permanent work in Edmonton, Agent Crystalline deliberately distinguishes itself from the organic curves of Vaulted Willow. Where the earlier project evoked branching and flow, Agent Crystalline explores sharpness and fracture, offering the city a new formal language of public art. Together, the two works enrich Edmonton’s civic landscape with a spectrum of architectural expressions, each responding uniquely to its site and community.
More than an object, Agent Crystalline is a threshold—between roadway and building, between speed and stillness, between the monumental and the intimate. It stands as a signal, a shelter, and a space of discovery.
